Reseller Interview, HTL Online
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Tuesday, 08 January 08 - 03:50 PM (GMT) By Joshua Davidson in Spotlight |
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The launch of the Reseller opportunity in December 2007 meant that overnight Terapad became the ultimate development tool for web design companies working with small business clients. Terapad dramatically cuts the cost of producing highly functional websites and brings web 2.0 tools to businesses of all sizes.
Today’s Spotlight is going to focus on HTLonline, one of the first Terapad Resellers. Last year they began offering their small business clients Terapad based sites. They used Terapad when they identified a client that required a web 2.0 presence but didn’t have the budget for a bespoke development.
The Terapad solution meant that they could offer these smaller clients a CMS system with functions and features normally reserved for larger companies with larger budgets. Since its adoption Terapad has enabled HTLonline to take on more web design projects and turn a failing element of their business into a very profitable service. You can view their Reseller profile within the Reseller directory here.
This is the first interview in a series that I will carry out with Terapad Resellers. The interviews will focus on the reseller opportunity, with the aim of promoting Terapad’s benefits to other web design companies looking at the SME market. If you think that becoming a Terapad Reseller could help your business please visit Become a Reseller for more information and to sign up.
I met with William Millott, Business Development Manager at HTLonline.
Joshua: How did HTLonline approach small business clients before they discovered Terapad?William: Small business clients are increasingly demanding in the feature set that they require. However they simply
don’t have the budgets to pay for all the programming needed to create the sites they request. Previously this meant we would use our own in-house CMS, developed on the fly in hope that we could patch together something quickly and cheaply, in truth this was rarely the case. Another alternative was to use open source solutions, hardly ideal as it required additional staff training and still took lots of time to search for code, assemble it and seemingly endlessly alter it. We had arrived at a point where we had accepted that we couldn’t make money from small businesses and were instead chasing larger clients, something which was again costly but for other reasons.
Joshua: So then you discovered Terapad?
William: Yes, there will always be a compromise when money is an issue so we actively searched for a better solution for both our clients and ourselves. When we discovered Terapad it seemed like the ideal compromise for small businesses. As I have said it had a great feature set, flexible design and unbelievable ease of development, plus there was no fee to use it. I must confess this won us over as we knew we had nothing to lose.
Joshua: Then you started developing Terapad sites?
William: That’s right. We had a few small business clients that we wanted to try out Terapad for. We contacted them with our idea and they were thrilled to hear that we could deliver all the features they had asked for and more, as well as a unique design.
Then we began getting more ambitious and started using Terapad on some medium sized companies as well. It really is a very powerful tool.
William: Well it is hard to say as every web design company is different. I think the two most important things we have learnt are, know your clients and keep up with technology. Before Terapad we occasionally had difficult situations where we were chasing fees from small businesses that had overstretched and paid too much for their website. With a solution like Terapad available this scenario should never happen again.
New technologies like Terapad have the power to change business practice. The efficiency that Terapad enables drastically altered how we thought about the small business market. Terapad required no additional technical training for our staff. There are zero development costs our end as its functionality is kept cutting edge by the Terapad technical team, who have listened and responded to the improvements we have suggested.
To see examples of HTLonline and other Resellers work you can visit their profile pages within the Reseller Directory which lists many companies from around the globe.
Cutty Sark website raises £30,000 in donation since Monday
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Saturday, 26 May 07 - 04:03 PM (GMT) By Stephan Tual in Spotlight |
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It's very unfortunate that a lot of our users from outside the UK will have heard about the Cutty Sark for the first time only because of the tragic fire that engulfed her Monday.
We were particularly saddened by the news because the Cutty Sark has been one of our very first Terapad users, for almost two years now. And on a more personal level, Cutty Sark was one of the first landmarks I visited when settling in England back in 1998 (I used to live in Lewisham). The ship and its settings alongside The Old Royal Naval College are an excellent memory of my early days as a Londoner.
Imagine my surprise Monday morning
when the early warning system we use to track bandwith 'leechers' indicated one of our sites had suddenly tripled in traffic. 10,000 visitors became 20,000, then 40,000. By noon the Cutty Sark was receiving more than 100,000 visitors per hour as it became the the front page of CNN, Fox, BBCnews, Google News, The Guardian and SkyNews... simultaneously!
Meanwhile our server was still running 7000 other Terapad sites with an average of 30ms response time per page, a testament to the stability of our platform. The staff at the Cutty Sark were fantastic and quickly leveraged the site's popularity, setting up a donation's account on JustGiving, and publishing news items to keep their (now very large) user base updated.
I'm glad to say that they have so far raised £30,000 via their website, and that the Greenwich branch of Marks and Spencer Simply Food said it will donate £10,000 to the trust on Tuesday. I'm also relieved to hear that the Cutty Sark collection, including the ship's figurehead 'Nannie', did not suffer any damage and that their visitor center has already reopened.
Spotlight on... End to End
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Friday, 25 May 07 - 06:41 PM (GMT) By Stephan Tual in Spotlight |
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New category, 'Spotlight' - where we highlight the Terapad sites that stand out of the crowd.
First one is "End to End". For 16 days, Tim Dale and his wife are raising money for the Lymphoma Research Trust by biking the length of the UK, blogging from
their mobile phone on the way up. Tim suffered from Hodgkinsons disease
as a teen and also has other immediate family who have fought the battle
with cancer.
Of course, it's a really worthy cause and I encourage you to have a look at their site and support them by either donating or simply leaving a comment on their site. Seems to be hard work to cycle that long distance, and I'm sure they'll appreciate the encouragement! What also makes this site stand out is the technology they are using to post to their site - a service provided by Connect me Anywhere called 'V-Blogging', allowing Tim and Libby to record the news at it happens from their mobile phones, then upload the file straight to their website.
As you can imagine we think it's a really cool technology, so expect to see further integration between our two services in the future.
Spotlight on... East Dorset Rugby Club
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Sunday, 21 May 06 - 11:22 AM (GMT) By Joshua Davidson in Spotlight |
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East Dorset is a very successful Rugby Club; however before they discovered Terapad Pro they did not fare so well online. Their existing website was not popular with supporters who had grown accustomed to features usually seen on the websites of larger clubs.
East Dorset urgently needed a discussion forum, an image gallery and a way to update pages regularly. East Dorset’s club managers realised that if they utilized a Terapad powered website they could create a new website which included all of these dynamic features at a price well within their budget.
The Terapad features used by East Dorset Rugby are as follow:
The Content Management System module - in order to easily update the site content after each game, present the teams, promote the club sponsors and publish its membership rules.
The Discussion forums modules - to build an online community around the site, by giving supporters and players a chance to meet and a place to 'hang out' on-line.
The News and Content Syndication module - to announce upcoming games, club meetings and events, recruit new players and comment on all things rugby.
The Image Gallery module - to post pictures of past game, pre-season training and even club event and parties.
By leveraging the Terapad community-oriented features, The East Dorset Rugby Club website went from 0 to 200 qualified visitors per day in a matter of weeks, frequently reaching twice that number during weekends.
An image gallery, discussion forums and regularly updated content keep visitors coming back to the website. East Dorset has successfully built an online community around their site that consistently attract new visitors week after week.
A Terapad Pro site has resulted in the East Dorset Rugby Club signing 2 new major sponsorship deals. Along with a new member of coaching staff and influx of new players, the club has never looked as strong.
The East Dorset Rugby Club can be visited at http://www.eastdorsetrugby.com/
Spotlight on... CCR Magazine
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Tuesday, 22 November 05 - 12:00 PM (GMT) By Joshua Davidson in Spotlight |
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Today the spotlight falls on CCR. CCR are a leading Credit Collection and Risk magazine and they use a Terapad Pro site to support their magazine. They realized that flourishing magazines also have successful online presences, and communities of experts built around them.
CCR also realized the online version of the magazine should not 'compete' against the print edition but it should complement it. A Terapad Pro site allows them to keep the communication channels open with their audience each month, offering the readers a chance to comment on their articles and provide feedback.
CCR also wanted to promote their magazine online, and become an authoritative source of information for Credit Collection on the Internet. A Terapad Pro site was the perfect solution as it offers an easy to use content management system allowing CCR's writers to publish articles without requiring any particular technical knowledge.
In order to differentiate their website from the competition, CCR made use of a lot of Terapad’s CMS features. Features of this type are usually reserved for larger publications with large budgets but using Terapad Pro they were implemented into their site simply and easily. Terapad’s powerful feature set really helps their website to standout from the crowd.
The Content Management System module - in order to quickly build a series of valuable articles and restrict access to registered visitors only.
The Discussion forums modules - because CCR understands a modern website needs to go beyond the online brochure model and requires a strong community before it can be considered 'authoritative'.
The Online Shop module - to sell magazine subscriptions, CD-ROMs, etc.
The Online Recruitment Tools module - to advertise internal positions - what better way to find talented writers who are also Credit Collection experts than on a Credit Collection website?
The News and Content Syndication module - to attract new website traffic and report on the industry latest happenings.
The Event Calendar Module - to advertise events, forums, seminars relating to Credit Collection and Risk.
The Image Gallery module - to post pictures of past events and the recent magazine covers.
CCR Magazine is now a success both on and offline. Its online discussion forums are reputed to be frequented by the best elements in the industry. Regular page updates keep visitors coming back and the online shop provides a welcomed source of revenue. Importantly, because CCR requires registration before being able to access its online articles, they have also been able to build in a useful registered user database.
This Terapad success story highlights what can be achieved by business start-ups with web 2.0 vision. The CCR Magazine Terapad Pro website can be visited at http://www.ccrmagazine.co.uk/
Spotlight on... Median Recruitment
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Wednesday, 09 November 05 - 12:47 PM (GMT) By Joshua Davidson in Spotlight |
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It started in 2006; Median knew that online brochures were no longer relevant in an Internet age where users had become accustomed to interactive features, such as the ones found on Dice.com or Monster.co.uk. The problem of course was that not everyone had access to the budgets of these Internet giants.
This is when they discovered Terapad. Using Terapad Pro, it was possible for them to leverage online recruitment tools as powerful as the 'big names' ones, all for a fraction of the cost.
Since their new site went live, Median Recruitment's online strategy has become an online recruitment success story, with the site short-listed from over 900 agency applications for the ‘Best use of Technology’ category at the LSE recruitment awards.
Median now advertise and track hundreds of positions online while maintaining an extensive database of applicants, making the most out of cutting edge technologies such as RSS and integration with content syndication networks such as FeedBurner to drive traffic and valuable candidates to their sites.
Through integrating with Google Analytics, Median no longer has to guess who their visitors are. Median staff can accurately pinpoint where traffic is coming from, if visits are from returning applicants, which pages are the most popular and why. Armed with this information and the rapid editing tools provided by Terapad, they are able to quickly react to industry changes and modify their content to adapt to a fast moving industry.
The site also gained a reputation as a valuable resource for careers tips on the internet, thanks to a library of articles created by leveraging the easy to use CMS tools.
Median Recruitment website can be visited at http://www.medianrecruit.co.uk
Spotlight on... Greenwich Admirals Ruby League
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Monday, 25 October 04 - 12:37 PM (GMT) By Joshua Davidson in Spotlight |
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Despite many victories on the field, the Admirals existing website was plagued by an inconsistent design which did not accurately reflect the success of their team. Slow-loading pages, unprofessional design and an unfriendly navigation meant that only the most dedicated supporters would visit their site. What the Admirals needed was a boost in memberships, number of supporters, and perhaps more importantly, major new sponsors. This is when they discovered Terapad Pro.The managers of the Admirals were very surprised to learn that interactive features previously reserved for larger sites, such as discussion forums, or image galleries, were in fact well within their budget if they switched to a Terapad Pro website.
Engaging community features such as discussion forums and regularly updated content quickly started to produce returning visitors and loyal fans finally had a place to 'hang out' online to discuss their favorite club, monitor their team's progress or chat with players and coaches. Utilizing these features meant the Admirals achieved their key objective of attracting new fans and players to the club.
Greenwich Admirals secretary Graham Henley recognized that Terapad represented an “amazing opportunity for the club to have what will be the best website in amateur rugby league, maybe even in the whole of rugby league.”
The switch to a Terapad Pro website has raised the profile of the club. Making use of Terapad’s built in SEO and news story syndication has spread the word of their sporting successes across the Internet. In fact since setting up a Terapad Pro website the Greenwich Rugby League have also welcomed several new major sponsors and gone from strength to strength.
The Greenwich Rugby League website can be visited at http://www.greenwichrl.com/
Spotlight on... HTL Online
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Monday, 23 August 04 - 04:02 PM (GMT) By Joshua Davidson in Spotlight |
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HTL Online provides a full range of Internet products and solutions, including Email, security testing, server monitoring, DDoS protection and spam filtering.
Like its sister company HTL, the HTL Online website did not accurately reflect the company's image. The site did not generate enough traffic and revenue: HTL Online clearly had outgrown the 1990's "online brochure" model.
It's not uncommon for Internet security products suppliers to release new versions of their software every 6 months or so. HTL Online needed a way to have its staff update new items and product pages on a weekly basis.
The site also had to look polished and sophisticated without becoming 'bloated' or unusable. It would be important to provide ways for the visitor to submit immediate feedback without having to click on multiple links.
A long search for a content management package turned out to be fruitless, as the products were either too complex or too expensive, while the more traditional graphic designers-led companies couldn't provide the dynamic CMS elements required to keep the site content fresh and up-to-date.
After the online success experienced by their sister company, HTL Online knew that a Terapad Pro website would be ideal to meet their needs. This also meant the two companies' sites backends would be identical, allowing for skills to be easily transferred between the two companies.
RSS news feeds from the BBC complements HTL Online's own news items. Updated frequently alongside the rest of the content, they create an ever changing home page, increasing the numbers of repeated visits.
Darren Dackombe, HTL Online Sales Manager, said "There has been an huge amount of work gone into the website from all parts of the business. I am delighted that they reflect the professionalism that HTL Online brings to its client base and potential customers"
It took no time at all to get the Terapad Pro website up and running. Features such as content syndication and frequent content updates are now driving steady traffic to the site, and HTL Online secured several projects following their upgrade to a Terapad Pro website.
The HTL Online website can be visited at http://www.htlonline.net/
Spotlight on... Harvey Technologies Limited
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Monday, 23 August 04 - 12:24 PM (GMT) By Joshua Davidson in Spotlight |
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Harvey Technologies Ltd is a London-based provider of IT services for the SME marketplace. They provide a wide range of services from network design and implementation through to a dedicated support solution.
Harvey Technologies Ltd was founded in 1997 to provide consultancy services to corporate clients. As the years have passed Harvey Technologies Ltd evolved to become a cutting edge provider of integrated technology solutions to the SME marketplace. Their experience and professionalism have been endorsed both by their clients and by many of the world's leading hardware and software manufacturers.
Harvey Technologies Ltd, of course, already had a static website describing their products and services. But, written a couple of years ago, and difficult to update, the site no longer accurately reflected their current offering, and perhaps more importantly, no longer represented the company it had become.
Harvey Technologies Ltd was facing three different, but equally important issues:
1. Updating the existing site was unnecessarily complicated... and expensive.
2. The 'online' brochure model had become inefficient in the eyes of a more sophisticated web audience.
3. The 'look and feel' of their site had become dated over the years.
While a website update seemed necessary - even inevitable - the company was wary of upgrading to yet another static solution. In the past, static pages had proven to be difficult to update. Every time a new product or service had to be added to the site, a new page had to be designed, then uploaded via FTP. Having to call a designer to update a single email address or a typo on the website seemed to be a waste of money.
Harvey Technologies Ltd was also in the situation many SMEs are today: their site had to break out of the 'online brochure' mould to become an efficient sales tool. It's no longer enough to describe your product and services across endless HTML pages. Today's online users rightfully expect interaction, contact forms, forums, dynamic new items and multimedia content.
A content management system solution seemed to be the best option, along with a site redesign. As HTL searched for a CMS, they discovered that those were in fact just collections of low-level website building blocks. They provided endless APIs (Application Programming Interfaces), but not the actual website HTL was looking for.
A Terapad Pro website was a good match for Harvey Technologies Ltd’s needs as it provided the dynamic features Harvey Technologies Ltd required and allowed them to focus on a new website design.
Because the feature set had already been built, Harvey Technologies Ltd were able to spend most of their time focusing on the front end of the site, the bit that HTL's clients would actually see and interact with.
Using a Terapad Pro website made sure that Harvey Technologies Ltd would offer more than a simple web brochure. Content Syndication via RSS was added so that visitors could sign up for news alerts. Contact forms on every page allow users to contact Harvey Technologies Ltd staff as soon as something catches their attention.
There was nothing for Harvey Technologies Ltd to worry about in term of backend interface. They had already seen what Terapad could do, including WYSIWYG page editor. Design finalised, the site went live a week later.
The Harvey Technologies Ltd website now receives more frequent visits and emails. Users are also staying longer and visit more pages. In fact, the new website has already helped HTL secure several new customers.
Case studies can be added in minutes, not hours, and regularly updated news items are automatically published as an RSS feed, offering an out-of-the box 'push media' solution at a very low cost.
The Harvey Technologies Limited website can be visited at http://www.harvey-technologies.co.uk/
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